Breeding

Agrico was exhibiting at Fruit Logistica in Berlin this past week, from Wednesday 6 to Friday 8 February 2019. During this leading international trade fair, Agrico, together with its subsidiaries, launched its new quality strategy. The central message that Agrico wanted to communicate to its international customers is the intensified focus on quality â€“ a focus that is motivated by[Read[Read More…]

Potato breeding doesnâ€™t turn out a lot of winners. A breeder may find something with commercial value in just 1 out of 200,000 plants. Jeffrey Endelman is trying to improve those odds through the same genomic strategies used in the livestock industry. Endelman, who runs the University of Wisconsinâ€™s potato breeding program, spoke at the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention[Read[Read More…]

Because of its genetic complexity, the potato didnâ€™t undergo a â€œgreen revolutionâ€ like other staple crops. It can take more than 15 years to breed a new kind of potato that farmers can grow. In this special Podcast by Science magazine, host Sarah Crespi talks with Staff Writer Erik Stokstad about how researchers are trying to simplify the potato genome[Read[Read More…]

THE SACRED VALLEY OF THE INCAS IN PERU â€” On a bleak, brown hill here, David Ellis examines a test plot of potato plants and shakes his head. “They’re dead, dead, dead,” he says. Pests and lack of rain have laid waste to all 17 varieties that researchers had planted. It is a worrying sign for Ellis, the now-retired director[Read[Read More…]

Potato breeding and biotechnology company, Solynta has announced that it has appointed Peter Kooman PhD to lead its product management and agronomy team. Peter brings a wealth of potato experience to Solynta. Being raised at a potato farm, earned his MSc in agriculture at Wageningen University with a focus on potato, received his PhD also at Wageningen University with a[Read[Read More…]

Dear folks, one of our ardent and loyal readers in Ireland is in dire straights right now, needing 2 tonnes of Yukon Gold potato seed to be shipped to her at Dublin Port as soon as possible? Anyone that can possible help? Most appreciated folks, thank you… Her name is Maria Flynn at Ballymakenny Farm in Ireland. You will find[Read[Read More…]

Potato tuber skin and flesh colours are attractive traits for consumers and frequently influence purchase choices. In a new study, scientists of the James Hutton Institute have identified a genetic molecule that regulates the production of anthocyanin, a natural pigment which in turn influences tuber skin and flesh colour. The researchers also identified previously unknown inhibitors of anthocyanin production, offering an[Read[Read More…]

Scientists are trying to revolutionise potatoes and, in the process, cure the tubersâ€™ depression, the result of generations of in-breeding. Potato depression is obviously nothing like human depression, of course. Potatoes reproduce through cloning, so their genome is laden with mutations. Those mutations could result in things such as stunted growth or shorter lifespans. A team of Chinese scientists looked[Read[Read More…]

“Opening the Earth: The Potato King” is a documentary about Peruvian Julio Hancco, one of the few remaining guardians of Biodiversity left in the world. Of the film’s acceptance to the festival, O Films founder Eric Ebner says, ‘This is a huge milestone for the film and our team. We are honored to have the world premiere at one of[Read[Read More…]

Scientists at The James Hutton Institute have unlocked the genetics of potato skin and flesh colour paving the way for new colourful varieties. A new study identified a genetic molecule that regulates the production of anthocyanin, a natural pigment which influences skin and flesh colour. Researchers also discovered previously unknown inhibitors of anthocyanin, meaning potato breeders could target these genes[Read[Read More…]

Greenvale Seed, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of seed potatoes has announced it’s intention to exclusively supply UK growers with a new variety of potato. The variety named Tyson lives up to its big name punching above many other varieties on the UK market with its high yielding and disease resistant properties. Greenvale Seed have been supplying UK potato[Read More…]

The seventh EcoFestival of the Native Potato Seed has recently come to an end. This annual event synthesizes the struggle for the rescue of the ancestral potato and other Andean produce, in favor of food sovereigntyÂ in Venezuela. The EcoFestival of the Native Potato Seed, is an annual event, held for the last seven years in the Venezuelan Andean community of[Read[Read More…]

Applications are invited for a Postdoctoral Researcher with skills in plant genomics and molecular biology to join the Laboratory of Prof. Jonathan Jones at the Sainsbury Laboratory (TSL) with the goal of cloning two blight resistance genes fromÂ Solanum americanum,a wild potato relative. The project is a collaboration with Paul Birch and Ingo Hein at JHI, Dundee, with the Kamoun lab[Read[Read More…]

The humble potato is a staple food for many cultures across the globe. But it may just be an important food for the future of space exploration. A recent experiment has taken place in the Peruvian capital, Lima. The experiment saw a potato plant growing in conditions similar to what you might find on the surface of Mars. Exciting stuff![Read[Read More…]

After 20 years of biotechnological research, the first GMO potato that is resistant to the PVY virus is said to go on sale to the public next year in Argentina. The potato’s productive and economic benefits are estimated at 45 million dollars per year in the Argentine market alone. This transgenic potato is the result of an achievement by Technoplant,[Read[Read More…]

Crossroads at Big Creek is hosting a program where the University of Wisconsin and the USDA Potato Research Project grow and study a promising potato variety from Colombia in South America. The University of Wisconsin and the USDA Potato Research Project are using the greenhouses at Crossroads to grow the potatoes. This is the fifth winter in a row that[Read[Read More…]

A 2018 report on seed potato acreage from the Potato Association of America(PAA) reveals that Cornell’s Lamoka is the chipping potato cultivar most widely planted for seed in the US. Lamoka, developed by Walter de Jong in the Plant Breeding and Genetics Section, is popular because it fries to an exceptionally light color and maintains its quality in storage. It is also resistant to the golden[Read[Read More…]

Many people are opposed to the cultivation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and believe they are dangerous for your health. Many also are opposed to the use of pesticides, and believe that there are â€˜naturalâ€™ alternatives to their use in farming. Both of these beliefs are not just wrong: they are dangerous. As the population of the world is set[Read[Read More…]

Agrico held its central general membersâ€™ meeting last Tuesday. At this well attended meeting, the annual report 2017/2018 was discussed. The 2017/2018 financial year was characterised by positives and negatives. Expectations were low at the start of the financial year. The yield in kilograms per hectare of seed potatoes and table potatoes was high, and the prices were under pressure.[Read[Read More…]

The potato breeding company Solynta inÂ the Netherlands says it has successfully produced a hybrid breeding program for potatoes which will allow the rapid selection and turnover of favourable traits, traits which could help feed millions of people worldwide.Â Potato breeding techniques are lagging far behind those of other popular crops such as rice, maize, and wheat. This is because[Read[Read More…]

Champâ€™PomÂ Export was created 10 years ago in Champagne, at the heart of one of the largest French regions of potato production. Nowadays, this company produces and trades more than 30 potatoes varieties, selling a total of 40000 tons per campaign. 20% of their sales is covered by their own production while the rest is produced by French partner farmers based[Read[Read More…]

This past Tuesday, the Agriculture Minister in Peru publicly presented a new purple flesh potato variety with higher than normal concentrations of iron and zinc. The potato is believe to become an important help in the fight against child anemia in the Andes. Agriculture Minister Gustavo Mostajo told Peruvian radio station RPP that the new potato was bred and developed[Read[Read More…]

After 20 years of biotechnological research, the seed of the first potato that is resistant to the PVY virus in Argentina will go on sale next year. Its productive and economic benefits are estimated at 45 million dollars per year in the Argentine market alone. This potato is an achievement of Tecnoplant, of the Sidus group. On August 8, this[Read[Read More…]

Technico Agri Sciences, an agri-biotech company owned by diversified Indian conglomerate ITC, has signed an agreement with the James Hutton Institute in Scotland to introduce 16 new potato varieties and 600 potato clones to India. These differentiated varieties, expected to improve yields by 15 to 20 per cent, will undergo trials and evaluation to identify varieties best suitable for cultivation[Read[Read More…]